1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, which can communicate with an external apparatus across a network, and an information processing method therefor, and to a storage medium and a control program, for implementing information processing, that is stored on the storage medium.
2. Related Background Art
With a conventional network system, to print a document a client computer must submit a printing request to a network print controller, which thereafter transmits a printing order to an arbitrary print server (a printer). To enable the client computer to specify which document is to be printed, the size of the paper to be used and the number of copies that are desired, a user interface provided by a WWW (World Wide Web) server in the print controller is used for the submission of the printing request; and the requested printing order is prepared through the exchange of information by the WWW server and the client computer.
In the above conventional system, upon receiving from the client an entry made by a user, the WWW server must prepare a WWW page containing the setup procedures that accompany a printing order issued to a corresponding print server (a printer), and must transmit the page to the client. Furthermore, various information, such as the input of a user ID and a password, the selection of a print server to act as an output shop and the selection of a printing medium to receive the Internet printing service, must be exchanged with a client when preparing the printing order. Therefore, during the preparation of the printing order data transmission across the network is performed a number of times, and as a result, the responses of the user interface tend to become deteriorated, especially when a low-speed line is employed.
Further, since the printing order is prepared by using the user interface provided at the print controller, the client computer must be connected, using a dial-up connection, not only during the transmission of the printing request to the print controller but also during the preparation of the printing order. Thus, communication costs are increased.